If you've spent more than a few minutes on the internet, you've probably seen your share of negativity and malice posted anonymously (or not) from one stranger to another.

There's nothing wrong with a little civil disagreement, but unsubstantiated animosity does nothing but detract from constructive conversations.

With that in mind, I'd like to present pauljones with the award for Conversation Of The Day, who articulated something we should all consider as we participate in discussions on this and other websites:

The key is to take it in stride, realize that this is the internet, and keep your cool. If you find that you're in a discussion which you feel isn't going anywhere, respectfully disengage, just as you would here on Jalopnik.

That's the key takeaway, and further light is shed in the rest of the statement defending our sister site Jezebel after it was described as "in fact, discriminative" in this comment on today's Morning Shift.

I have no problem with women in a senior role in Jalopnik. Based on how "clean" we keep…
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The point of Jezebel is not discriminative in any way. Jezebel is a website tailored to the interests of a given demographic, just like Jalopnik or Deadspin. In the case of Jezebel, that demographics is women. It's no different than how Jalopnik or Deadspin cater to their audiences. In the case of Jezebel, it is indeed a website staffed by women that focuses on things that are, surprise, of interest to women.hat's not to say that all women love Jezebel; some may not, just as some guys have no interest in sports or cars.

I do, however, realize that many Jalopnik commenters seem to have issues on the rare occasion that they comment on Jezebel. AI have no idea why; it's really not that complicated. You're definitely commenting on a site with different topics and engaging a commentariat that has a very different mindset than what you'd find here at Jalopnik. And you know what? That's okay. Just expect that, and be open enough to listen to their point of view, be respectful of differing opinions, and be willing to engage a topic on different terms. Are there some volatile commenters on Jezebel? Absolutely. There are also plenty of volatile commenters here Jalopnik. The key is to take it in stride, realize that this is the internet, and keep your cool. If you find that you're in a discussion which you feel isn't going anywhere, respectfully disengage, just as you would here on Jalopnik.

Honestly, this really isn't rocket science.

The key is this: Stop viewing Jezebel as a place where those strange women creatures and boobs and periods go, and start viewing it as simply another internet blog with a different theme. If you find something there that interests you or that you think is worth making a positive contribution to, by all means participate. They welcome that. Just be respectful, check your attitude at the door, grow a thicker skin, and be willing to entertain that your individual mindset is not the only one in the world.

Suddenly, participating on Jezebel doesn't seem all that complicated, does it?

As for the content of Jezebel, they do in fact have several male contributors; some popular, some not. At the end of the day, Jezebel is not any more or less discriminatory that Jalopnik or Deadspin. It's just a little different. Today 10:19am

The point of Jezebel is not discriminative in any way. Jezebel is a website tailored to the…
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